Design
Thinking
for
Educators
Teacher-designed
How might my classroom be redesigned
to better meet my students’ needs?
Michael Schurr, a 2nd grade teacher in New York, realized that he never asked his
students what would make them comfortable in the classroom. He decided to talk
directly with his students to figure out the best design for their environment.
Based on his students’ input, he was able to redesign his classroom to better
address the needs and desires of his students. He lowered the bulletin boards
so that his students could actually see the content he’d spent hours assembling,
and created a more comfortable semi-private space for the students to study
by rethinking the student cubby space. His students are more engaged and
move more fluidly in the classroom space. Now Michael consistently engages his
students in helping him more effectively shape their learning experience.
Michael is using design to re-imagine his classroom through the lens
of his students’ eyes.
School-designed
How might we create a 21st century
learning experience at our school?
The faculty at Ormondale Elementary School in California wondered if they
were preparing their students well for the future. They decided it was time to
collaboratively design an approach to teaching and learning that they felt was
updated and relevant for the 21st century.
Collectively, they embarked on a design journey and came to an approach
they call “Investigative Learning,” which addresses students not as receivers
of information, but as shapers of knowledge. The faculty continues to evolve
and share this approach with new teachers through the creation of a
Manual
of Investigative Learning
to keep track of their philosophy and methods. They
have gained support from their school board, and have become recognized as a
California Distinguished School.
The faculty at Ormondale Elementary School uses design to address the
needs of their evolving student body.
School-designed
How might we redesign our approach to
curriculum development and delivery
to center around the needs and desires
of our teachers and students?
District-designed
With a movement toward student-centered and personalized instruction, the
Howard County Public School System in Maryland is using Design Thinking to
tackle next generation curriculum redesign incorporating 21st Century skills.
Currently, there is a disconnect between the existing paper-based curriculum and
the interactive digital resources that are now available anytime, anywhere for
teachers and students.
Tapping into teacher, parent, and student behaviors in and outside of school,
the design team collected inspiration around the ways that people engage with
information and interact with curricular materials. Understanding the desires
of teachers, students, parents and administrators has helped the team rethink
curriculum delivery as well as develop resources to replace, augment, and
enhance current curriculum documents.
Howard County is using design to re-conceptualize curriculum creation and
delivery to meet the needs of all learners.
How might we redesign our high school
to elevate student engagement and
academic outcomes?
Community-designed
Consistent low student achievement results at Castle High School in Hawaii
demonstrated the need for a redesign and restructure of the school. Design
Thinking Hawaii, a non-profit organization that engages volunteers to apply
Design Thinking to big challenges, partnered with the Hawaii Department of
Education to reimagine the Castle High experience.
Through a series of mini-charettes, Design Thinking Hawaii has collected the
needs and interests of learners, teachers, and families and engaged the larger
community to imagine new solutions that could help the school be more effective.
The adopted plan captured the community’s priorities in new content and
structures, and Complex Area Superintendent Lea Albert is enabling the school
and community to prototype and iterate core curriculum, character education,
and support services. This is the first public-school model in Hawaii to co-design
its offerings with community, targeting systemic educational problems.
Design Thinking Hawaii is using design to provide the state with input that
will shape the redesign of Castle High and other schools in the community.
6
“ The classroom
organization doesn’t
accommodate
different learning
modes and shifting
class sizes.”
There are a lot of problems in education today… but each of these concerns can be seen as an opportunity for you to design new, improved solutions for your classrooms, schools and communities.
“ Students just aren’t
interested in learning
about fractions.”
“Communication
with parents
isn’t effective.”
“I just can’t get my
students to pay
attention.”
“The school
pick up and
drop off
process is
chaos.”
“ Effectively managing multiple
learning-levels in one classroom
feels impossible.”
“ The pick-up
and drop-off
process at
school is a
nightmare.”
“ Current communication between
administration and teachers doesn’t
give everyone a voice.”
“There is no teacher
community network.”
7
The needs of today’s learners are evolving
as rapidly as the technologies that compete
for their attentions. At the same time, our
organizations and systems are stretched
to their limits to keep up with the changing
demands of the times. As an educator, you
are distinctly positioned to keep a pulse
on students’ evolving needs…
making you uniquely qualified to
understand and design for the
changing needs of our schools.
With over 3 million teachers
in the US alone, and with a
vast international network of
enthusiastic educators, you
stand in force on the front-lines of
K-12 education. Existing school
processes and currciulum are structured to
address district and state wide needs, but
every school is different.
But, because you understand your students
and your school like no one else, it is your
opportunity—and your responsibility—to
create solutions for the challenges you
and your school face everyday. As Einstein
famously said, “We can’t solve problems by
using the same kind of thinking we used when
we created them.”
Wherever they fall on the spectrum of scale—
from an interaction with a student to engaging
parents to managing your schedule to
developing whole new approaches to
system-wide reform — the challenges facing educators
are real, complex, and varied. And they need
new answers. As such, they require new
perspectives, new tools, and new approaches.
Design Thinking is one of
these approaches.
“Students come to
school hungry and can’t
focus on the work.”
“Parents don’t
support home
learning.”
“ The assessment rubric
doesn’t accurately
represent learning.”
“ We’re not preparing
our kids adequately
for the future.”
“I feel so
alone in my
work.”
“ District-wide changes don’t
authentically accommodate
differing communities.”
“ School schedules don’t
align with teaching and
learning rhythms.”
I have seen teachers start to redesign their classroom spaces by
interviewing their students...and develop new curricula by brainstorming
and then prototyping out a unit...The fact that teachers are using
human-centered design techniques to understand their students better makes
students feel more engaged in the changing learning environment.
The fact that the teacher is becoming the designer of his or her own
classroom experience professionalizes the role of the teacher and allows
for the most valuable change–authentic change driven by the students’
needs rather than a school or district mandate.
Design thinking is a creative act and lets teachers understand that the
act of creating a really effective learning environment is an art that
is both reflective and intentional. If we want to change education and
learning to make it more relevant, more effective and more enjoyable
for all involved, teachers need to be the entrepreneurial designers and
redesigners of the “systems” of schools and of the schools themselves.
Contents
This toolkit is for you. 10 What is Design Thinking? 11 What can I use Design Thinking for? 12 What does Design Thinking
look like in action? 13 The Design Process 14 If you only remember a few things… 16
0. Getting Started
18
1. Discovery
24
1-1 Understand the Challenge 26 1-2 Prepare Research 29 1-3 Gather Inspiration 33
2. Interpretation
38
2-1 Tell Stories 41 2-2 Search for meaning 43 2-3 Frame Opportunities 46
3. Ideation
48
3-1 Generate Ideas 50 3-2 Refine Ideas 544. Experimentation
56
4-1 Make Prototypes 58 4-2 Get Feedback 605. Evolution
66
5-1 Track Learnings 68 5-2 Move Forward 70Appendix 75
This toolkit equips you with the pro-cess and methods of design so you can be more intentional about fac-ing and solvfac-ing for your current chal-lenges. Businesses, social entre-preneurs and other innovators have used thse methods for decades to create solutions for many different types of challenges.
As educators, you are already designing every single day— whether it’s finding new ways to teach content more effectively, using your classroom space differ-ently, developing new approaches to connecting with parents, or creating new solutions for your school. We know that your time is precious and demands are high, and it may often feel that the system in which
you educate is not as nimble as nec-essary to keep up with the rapidly evolving demands. However, you already possess the skills to solve for these kinds of challenges. The methods in this toolkit are adapted specifically for you and give you the flexibility to work within your existing constraints.
This is an invitation to experiment with design processes. Let it inspire you to approach challenges differ-ently and experience how Design Thinking adds a new perspective to your work.
This toolkit is
for you.
This toolkit can help you create solutions for everyday challenges.
The toolkit offers you new ways to be
intentional and collaborative when
you are designing new solutions for
your classroom, school, and
commu-nity. It hones your skills and
empow-ers you to create desirable solutions.
In this toolkit, we have layed out
a series of steps that can help you
develop new, innovative solutions
designed with people at the center.
What will Design Thinking get me?
improved collaboration more fun getting unstuck effective ways to
engage students more creative confidence
solutions that fit my individual classroom, school or district
What is
Design Thinking?
Design thinking is about believing we
can make a difference, and having an
intentional process in order to get to new,
relevant solutions that create positive
impact.
Design Thinking gives you faith in your
creative abilities and a process for
trans-forming difficult challenges into
opportu-nities for design.
Design Thinking is a mindset.
It’s Human-Centered. Design Thinking begins from deep empathy and understanding of needs and motivations of people—in this case, the students, teachers, parents, staff and administrators who make up your everyday world.
It’s Collaborative. Several great minds are always stronger when solving a challenge than just one. Design Thinking benefits greatly from the views of multiple perspec-tives, and others’ creativity bolster-ing your own.
It’s Optimistic. Design Thinking is the fundamental belief that we all can create change—no matter how big a problem, how little time or how small a budget. No mat-ter what constraints exist around you, designing can be an enjoyable process.
It’s Experimental. Design Thinking gives you permission to fail and to learn from your mistakes, because you come up with new ideas, get feedback on them, then iterate. Given the range of needs your students have, your work will never be finished or “solved.” It is always in progress. Yet there is an underlying expectation that educators must strive for perfection, that they may not make mistakes, that they should always be flawless role models. This kind of expectation makes it hard to take risks. It limits the possibili-ties to create more radical change. But educators need to experiment, too, and Design Thinking is all about learning by doing.
In short, Design Thinking is the confidence that new, better things are possible and that you can make them happen. And that kind of opti-mism is well-needed in education.
CurrICuluM
Every day you design ways to interact with your students around content. You can follow a design process to be more inten-tional about connecting this content to the interests and desires of today’s learners by finding out more about the things that they do outside of school and connecting that to the content you are bringing to them.
SpaCES
The physical environment of the classroom sends a big signal about how you want your students to behave. Right now we tend to think of our classroom spaces as standard… kids in rows, sitting in desks. By rethinking the design of our spaces, we can send new messages to our students about how they should feel and interact in the classroom.
prOCESSES anD TOOlS
Your school has already designed a set of processes or tools that may or may not be setting up your school for success. This is typically outside of the classroom and spe-cific interactions around learning, and more around how the system operates. Every process is already designed, and thus can be redesigned! Sometimes creating tools can be essential to supporting newly designed processes.
SySTEMS
Not everyone can always make decisions for the system that they exist within, but everyone can contribute to the design of that system. Designing systems is about balancing the complexity of many different stakeholder needs with the needs of the operation. When designing systems, we’re often setting high-level strategy such as stating visions, priorities, policies, and key communications around these ideas. How might I inspire students to engage in
concerns of the environment?
How might I engage my students in compel-ling ways around learning world history? How might I develop students to be active seekers of knowledge in subjects that they have little knowledge of?
How might I help children from disad-vantaged backgrounds increase their vocabulary?
How might I use my classroom space in different ways to help set my students at ease?
How might I create a comfortable space that meets the many needs my students have throughout the day?
How might we reimagine our school’s library for the needs and interests of today’s learner?
How might we create an exciting and effec-tive space for teachers to collaborate? How might we design our high school campus to best engage and support today’s learner?
How might I engage parents as an integrated part of their students’ learning experience?
How might we recruit the best teachers to our school?
How might we re-envision arrival and departure procedures at our school? How might we design ways to keep our-selves balanced and well?
How might we redesign our school sched-ule to be centered around the needs of today’s families and teachers?
How might we reinvision curriculum for an entire district while providing for individual schools’ differences?
How might we track the development of students’ character traits over time to help shape our school philosophy more intentionally?
How might we connect more with our neighborhood community?
How might we use our school as an R&D hub for schools nationwide?
What can I use
Design Thinking for?
You can use Design Thinking to approach any challenge.
However, there are a consistent set of challenges
that teachers and schools seem to face, and they
center around the design and development of
learn-ing experiences (curriculum), learnlearn-ing
environ-ments (spaces), school programs and experiences
(processes and tools), and system strategies, goals
and policies (systems).
Sometimes these challenges are tackled by a district team— especially for the more complex challenges that involve multiple stakeholders; sometimes challenges are addressed at the school level, with a core team of representative educa-tors driving the process; and sometimes these challenges are addressed by educators or small teams of educators them-selves… which is where grassroots change begins to happen.
What does Design Thinking
look like in action?
How Ormondale Elementary School redesigned
their approach to teaching and learning
DISCOvEry
A 2-day summer workshop kicked off the challenge, with an excercise which entailed teachers imagining one of their current students in the year 2060. Based on understand-ing the goals and dreams of their students and families, coupled with the books they read about 21st century skills, the teachers collectively discussed the skills neces-sary for the students to succeed in the future. For further inspiration, the group visited outside organizations facing analogous challenges.
InTErprETaTIOn
The group synthesized the research creating generative questions, such as “How might we enable the globally aware student?” and “How might we provide opportunities for interest-driven learning?”
IDEaTIOn
Initial brainstorm ideas included tools and classroom design and expanded to include curriculum and the educational system as a whole.
ExpErIMEnTaTIOn
Several brainstorm ideas were prototyped which resulted in the emergence of a pattern across all the prototypes: the team was passionate about a teaching and learning approach they called Investigative Learning. The approach addressed the students not as receivers of information but as shapers of knowledge. They developed short- and long- term plans for ideas they could try out, and the things they’d like to learn more about in order to continually build out this new approach over the school year.
EvOluTIOn
Over the course of a year, many solutions were tested including diverse approaches to curriculum that integrated project- and theme-based learning in the classroom. The teachers created new communications for parents, and one teacher even received a grant to renovate a classroom and create a different learning environment for her students. Dedicated time in their weekly meetings was set aside to discuss was happening and support and learn from each other.
In the second year, the evolution continued with another workshop to make sense of the experiments they had conducted around the school. They developed a framework for Investigative Learning experiences that integrated everyone’s approaches, created commonly shared standards unique to their school that built upon state standards, and created new assessment approaches. They created a “Manual of Investigative Learning” to help everyone have a shared reference and have become recognized as a “California Distinguised School.”
The Design
Process
The design process is what puts Design Thinking into action. It’s
a structured approach to generating and evolving ideas. It has
five phases that help navigate the development from identifying
a design challenge to finding and building a solution.
It’s a deeply human approach that relies on your ability to be
intuitive, to interpret what you observe and to develop ideas that
are emotionally meaningful to those you are designing for—all
skills you are well versed in as an educator.
Methods are the core piece of this toolkit: they offer the actual instruc-tions that help you put Design Thinking into action.
There are many, in order to provide you with a rich variety to choose from: every challenge requires a dif-ferent approach and a difdif-ferent set of methods.
It often makes a lot of sense to follow these steps in a linear way, especially when you’re starting out. But don’t feel restricted by that: only you know how to best use this toolkit. Use it along with other methodologies and theories you find useful to develop ideas. Adapt it, annotate it, cut it up, reconstruct it and make it your own.
1–1 understand the Challenge 1–2 prepare research 1–3 Gather Inspiration 2–1 Tell Stories 2–2 Search for Meaning 2–3 Frame Opportunities 3–1 Generate Ideas 3–2 refine Ideas 4–1 Make prototypes 4–1 Get Feedback 5–1 Track learnings 5–2 Move Forward
Design Process
The Design Thinking process oscillates between divergent and convergent thinking modes. It can be helpful to be aware of the mode that corresponds to the design phase you are working through.
I learned something.
How do I interpret it?
I have a challenge.
How do I approach it? I see an opportunity. What do I create? I have an idea. How do I build it? I tried something new. How do I evolve it?
DISCOvEry InTErprETaTIOn IDEaTIOn ExpErIMEnTaTIOn EvOluTIOn
PHASES STEPS
1
2
3
4
5
n u m b er o f p os si b ili ti esIf you only remember a
few things…
You are a
designer.
Become more intentional about your design process.
Be confident in your creative abilities.
Be strategic about what needs attention first. Listen to your stakeholders and be inspired to design for them.
It’s your opportunity, and your responsibility, to have an impact on the lives of your stu-dents and be part of changing and growing the system.
Embrace your
beginner’s mind.
Approach problems as a novice even if you already know a lot about them.
Let yourself learn. Be willing to experiment.
Be ok with not having the “right” answer. Trust that you’ll find one.
Problems are just
opportunities for
design in disguise.
Have an abundance mentality. Be optimistic.
Believe the future will be better.
Start with, “What if?” instead of “What’s wrong?”
Stepping out of
your zone of
comfort = learning.
Get unstuck. Break your routine.
Use the world outside your classroom to invigorate your work.
Analagous inspiration is your best friend. Leave your classroom.
The design process has helped me
see that I have a responsibility to be a
change agent for teaching and
learn-ing. I don’t need to have all the answers
(or be perfect), but I need to be willing
to try new things, dare to dream big,
and be patient as I experiment with the
designs that emerge in the process.
Design Thinking has given me the tools
and empowerment to create
meaning-ful educational change.
WHaT’S In THIS SEcTIOn
Define a Challenge 19
Create a Project Plan 21
30–60 mins Reflective
2–3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
An opportunity framed as a design challenge.
KEEp In MInD
Defining a challenge is an act of leadership. Look around you, see what you think should be improved, and turn it into an actionable challenge that you and a team can create new solutions for. However, there is no “right” chal-lenge to begin working on. Just pick one that you are most excited to begin working on and get started!
Worksheet 1: Define a Challenge
Use the define a challenge worksheet in the Designer’s Workbook or in the appendix to help you define a challenge you’re excited to tackle and to create a project plan to guide the project.
GETTInG STarTED
Define a Challenge
Every design process begins with a specific and intentional problem to address; this
is called a design challenge. A challenge should be approachable, understandable and
actionable, and it should be clearly scoped—not too big or too small, not too vague
or too simple.
List possible topics
Finding opportunities for design often comes from noticing problems. An experienced Design Thinker maintains a mindset which instinctively reframes problems into opportunities. Make a list of all the problems you’ve noticed or things you’ve wished for.
Frame the problem
Rewrite the problem statements into “how might we” questions in order to frame the problem as a possibility. Use the define a challenge worksheet to help create a “how might we” question.
Keep it simple.
Describe your challenge simply and optimisti-cally. Make it broad enough to allow you to discover areas of unexpected value, and narrow enough to make the topic manageable.
Sketch out end goals
Define your goals for undertaking this design challenge. Be honest about determining a realistic scope of your project both regarding time and output.. What will you work to produce? Where do you expect to get at the end of this process? If you are creating a solution for your classroom, it may be something that will be easy for you to try and implement. But sometimes you are creating something that is beyond your direct skills, or something that involves many other people – such as defining new attributes for your school library,
or designing new processes for school drop off. In this case you might want to end with creating a presentation or a “pitch” to help engage others in your design ideas.Before you dig into the specifics of your challenge, consider what might be the “deliverables” for this project
Define measures of success
What else are you working toward? What will make this work successful? What are the measures of success? Examples include number of people who sign up for your program, stories retold by parents, student excitement, etc. Most of the time, these measures of success emerge as you dig into your project, but it helps to start to think about this at the onset.
Establish constraints
It is crucial to define constraints and get specific on the problem or question you are trying to address. Does it need to fit into a certain time-frame? Can it be integrated with an existing struc-ture or initiative? Make a list of the constraints you need to manage.
Write a brief
A clearly defined challenge will guide your ques-tions and help you stay on track throughout the process. Write a short brief that clarifies the chal-lenge you plan to address. Write it as if you were handing it to someone else to design with. Capture thoughts on why this is a problem, and what the opportunity for design will be.
CurrICuluM
How might we engage students more deeply in reading? How might we bring the “real” Chinese community to my Chinese classes, and enable my students to make more authentic connections to the Chinese World?
How might we create a cur-riculum that teaches students about the brain and about who they are as learners?
SpaCE
How might we design our classroom space to be student-centered? How might we create a space for teacher collaboration? How might we redesign the library to enable flexibility between loud collaborative and quiet contemplative uses?
prOCESSES anD TOOlS
How might we build school-family partnerships? How might we adapt the school schedule to the learning rhythms of our students? How might we create a way to systematically review, discuss, and support students at lower grade levels?
SySTEMS
How might we develop tools that help teachers collaborate across our district’s schools? How might we support a more well-rested campus? How might we design our campus to serve our students and the community?
GETTInG STarTED
A design challenge is the starting point of every design process, and the purpose you
will work toward. Framing the right “How might we” question to address your challenge
is essential. The question should be broad enough to allow for unexpected possibilities
but narrow enough to let you focus. Be careful not to include the answer in the question.
Here are a few examples you can choose from, or use as inspiration to come up with a
challenge that matters for you.
20-30 mins Reflective
1-2 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
A clear timeline to guide your design challenge.
KEEp In MInD
As you dig into your challenge, you may find that your plan needs to adjust because your project has taken a new direction. Let your design process unfold naturally; don’t feel like you have to stick to the original plan. However, remember that setting deadlines can be help-ful in propelling your process forward.
GETTInG STarTED
Create a Project Plan
Once you have decided which challenge to work on, you can start to plan your design
project. The first, and likely quite challenging, task will be to find the time for your
endeavor. Try to integrate Design Thinking into the existing structures of your school’s
schedule. That will make it easier to follow through.
You know your workplace, schedule, and priorities best. You can create your own plan
that best fits into your unique configuration. Here are a few starting points for you.
Do it in a day
Transform a professional development day into a collaborative design workshop. To make the most of the day, define a challenge, assemble a team and identify sources of inspiration ahead of time. The large amount of time set aside for a PD day is ideal for working through Interpretation, Ideation, and Experimentation. These are intense and productive phases of the process, and will leave the team with tangible ideas as evidence of your progress. A professional development day is also an ideal chance to go out into the world and seek inspiration.
Doing a challenge in a day often results in inspiring new ideas, but doesn’t allow you the benefit of trying the ideas out in order to learn more about them. Consider spending time at the end of the day inviting teams of teachers to commit to experimenting and evolving ideas after this day, and share back learnings during some of your meetings over the year.
Immerse over a week or two.
Commit time during a prolonged break, such as summer, or holiday break, to dive into the design process. A continuous period of time allows for a deeper engagement with each phase. It’s an opportunity to experience the progression between steps. During the rest of the year, you can draw on what you learned during this time. It is amazing how far you can get in a short amount of dedicated time.
5pm noon 8am Day DISCOvEry InTErprETaTIOn IDEaTIOn ExpErIMEnTaTIOn EvOluTIOn 5pm noon 8am MOn 5pm noon 8am TuE 5pm noon 8am WED 5pm noon 8am THu 5pm noon 8am FrI DISCOvEry InTErprETaTIOn IDEaTIOn ExpErIMEnTaTIOn EvOluTIOn DISCOvEry InTErprETaTIOn
GETTInG STarTED
Decide what challenge is appropriate for a year-long commitment. Consider multiple
factors, such as complexity, scope, peoples’ involvement and priority. Then make a
project calendar and commit to deadlines and goals, as they create a sense of progress.
Agree on regular check-ins to keep the momentum going. Be intentional about how
best to match the flow of the project to the flow of the school year.
Design with depth over
time.Spread it out in small increments over months. Claim a common prep period or an after school meeting for working on a design project. Use the methods in this toolkit to determine the agenda each week. Meet regularly to build momentum, and provide opportunities for individual work and reflection on the days in between.
SEpTEMbEr OCTObEr nOvEMbEr
DECEMbEr January FEbruary
MarCH aprIl May
JunE July auGuST
DISCOvEry InTErprETaTIOn IDEaTIOn ExpErIMEnTaTIOn ExpErIMEnTaTIOn EvOluTIOn EvOluTIOn InTErprETaTIOn
TEaMS.
The team is stronger than any individual—
you know this well as a guiding principle of
education. And collaboration is inherent to
Design Thinking: having a team of people who
offer different strengths and perspectives will
enable you to solve complex challenges. But
teamwork isn’t always easy. Team dynamics
can be as limiting as they are empowering.
Here’s how to build a great team:
STarT SMall.
A team will work best if it consists of a core group of two to five indi-viduals. The smaller size will make it easier to coordinate schedules and make decisions. Invite others to join for brainstorms, give feed-back or help you get unstuck when it’s most useful.
InvITE varIETy.
Select people who can contribute from different angles. Consider involving an administrator, or a teacher you have never worked with. You’ll have a better chance of coming up with unexpected solutions.
aSSIGn rOlES.
It helps everyone navigate the project if there is a clear under-standing of what to contribute to the team. This is particularly helpful when you can’t choose who to work with: make agree-ments about which responsi-bilities people can take on that brings out their strengths. Who will be the coordinator, keeping everything organized? Who will be the enthusiast, inspiring the team with big dreams? Who is the nagger, making sure things keep moving forward? Who will lead the team?
allOW FOr alOnE TIME.
While most of this work should be done as a team, make sure to allow for individual work time. Sometimes the best progress comes from solitary thinking, planning and creating.
Prepare Before
You Start
SpaCES.
A dedicated space, even if
it’s just a wall, gives the team
a physical reminder of their
work. It allows them to put
up inspiring imagery or notes
from their research and to
be continuously immersed in
their learnings. Shared visual
reminders help track the
progress of the project and
stay focused on the challenge.
To spark new ideas and get
unstuck when the work gets
more challenging, consider
changing the space from time
to time.
MaTErIalS.
This process is visual,
tactile and experiential.
You often will create an
overview that’s visible for
everyone on the team,
or come up with a quick
sketch to explain your
idea. Make sure you have
supplies on hand that
make it easy to work in
that fashion.
Most of the methods
require Post-it Notes,
large Post-it pads or a
flipchart and felt markers.
OTHEr SupplIES THaT WIll bE uSEFul arE:
Adhesives Construction paper Foam core boards Markers Scissors Digital cameras Video cameras
Before you begin, here are a few tips that will help
you make the most out of your experience.
DIScOvErY
Phase
1
WHERE yoU ARE In THE PRoCESS WHaT’S In THIS PHaSE
1-1 Understand the Challenge 26
1-2 Prepare Research 29
1-3 Gather Inspiration 33
Discovery builds a solid foundation
for your ideas. Creating meaningful
solutions for students, parents,
teachers, colleagues and
adminis-trators begins with a deep
under-standing for their needs. Discovery
means opening up to new
opportu-nities, and getting inspired to create
new ideas. With the right
prepara-tion, this can be eye-opening and
will give you a good understanding
of your design challenge.
Phase
1
DIScOvErY
Phase-Step
1–1
Understand
the Challenge
Review the Challenge
Share What you Know
Build your Team
Define your Audience
Refine your Plan
WOrKSHEET
Worksheets for this step are available on pages 16–19 of the Designer's Workbook to help you understand the challenge with your team.
Review the Challenge
A clearly defined challenge will guide your questions and help you stay on track
throughout the process. Spend time with your team to create a common understanding
of what you are working toward.
collect thoughts
As a team, talk about the design challenge you chose to work on. Collect and write down thoughts about your challenge. Start with a broad view: ask yourself why people might need, want, or engage with the topic you are investigating. Discuss how you can refine the challenge if it feels to broad, or too specific.
review constraints
Review the list of criteria and constraints for the challenge. Discuss with your team, do you need to add to or change this list?
reframe the challenge
Based on the thoughts you have collected, reframe the challenge, if necessary, to incorporate the team’s thinking. Keep rewriting your challenge until it feels approachable, understandable and actionable to everyone on the team.
create a visible reminder
Post the challenge in a place that everyone on the team can see, to be reminded of your focus through-out the process.
10 min Reflective
2–3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
A clear, agreed upon, design challenge expressed in one sentence.
KEEp In MInD
A good challenge is phrased with a sense of possibility. Make it broad enough to allow you to discover areas of unexpected value, and narrow enough to make the topic manageable.
DIScOvErY DIScOvErY
Share What you Know
Chances are good that you already have some knowledge about the topic. Share what
you know, so you can build on it and can focus on discovering what you don’t yet know.
Share what you know
Post the design challenge where everyone can see it. With your team, write down what you know about the topic. Use one piece of information per Post-it note. Read your notes out loud, and post them under the design challenge. Ask others for feedback and discuss any of the assumptions that come up.
Define what you don’t know
Write down and share what you don’t know or yet understand about the challenge. Post these ques-tions in a different area.
Build on your knowledge and fill in the gaps
Group the Post-it notes into themes and use them to plan your research in later steps.
Build your Team
Several great minds are always stronger when solving a challenge. Put effort into
understanding the skills and motivations of your collaborators to create a strong team.
Share who you are
Spend time as a team getting to know each other. Make this a casual and friendly experience. Give everyone a few minutes to write down his or her skills, then share back with the team.
Define your individual and team goals
Talk about the ambitions of each person. Continue to write them down and post them on the wall. Find out about your shared goals. Match skills and passions with what your challenge requires.
agree on roles
Define each person’s role. Consider letting your team members self-identify how they want to contribute. Keep a visual reminder of your conversations by tak-ing notes or photos.
Give feedback
Revisit the agreement about your team structure on a regular basis. Support each other by giving con-structive feedback about everyone’s contribution.
20–30 min Reflective
2–3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
An agreement on the team members’ roles.
KEEp In MInD
The various phases of the design process require different skills and respond to different passions. Remember to adjust your team structure over time.
30–45 min Reflective
2–3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
An overview of the team’s knowledge and its open questions.
KEEp In MInD
Remember to stay open to new information, try to discover what you don’t already know.
DIScOvErY DIScOvErY
Define your Audience
A deep understanding of peoples’ motivations and needs is the best foundation for any
design solution. Consider the broad spectrum of people who will be touched by what
you design.
List immediate contacts
With your team, collect and write down the people or groups that are directly involved in or reached by your topic. Are you designing for parents? Will you need to connect with administrators? Use Post-it notes, so you can adapt your overview throughout the conversation.
Think more broadly
Add people or groups who are peripherally relevant, or are associated with your direct audience.
Build an overview
Think about the connections these people have with your topic. Who are the fans? Who are the skep-tics? Who do you need the most? Create a visual overview of those who you consider to be your main audience, as opposed to more peripheral contacts.
create a visible reminder
Keep a map of the people involved in a visible place for you to revisit over the course of the project.
Refine your Plan
A solid plan will help you make decisions along the way. You began with a plan for the
project, connect with your team around goals and deadline to make sure everyone is
aligned. Make agreements so everyone on the team can organize their time effectively.
Sketch a calendar
Sketch out a large paper calendar that everyone can see. Write down tasks, meetings and finish dates on Post-it notes, then affix them to the paper calendar to allow for mobility.
Form agreements
As a team, define which times you can best collabo-rate. Put these dates on everyone’s calendars.
create a visual reminder
Keep your paper calendar in a space visible for everyone to see, or create a shared online document with access for all team members.
20–30 min Hands-On
1–3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
A visual overview of all the people relevant to your challenge.
KEEp In MInD
You may not get to talk to everyone in the first attempt at this challenge… inventory everyone now so that you can come back to this list when you have more questions in later phases.
20–30 min Hands-On
2–3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
A calendar with agreements on team members’ involvement and set timing.
KEEp In MInD
Be prepared to frequently adjust your plan. Often, new ideas will take you in a differ-ent direction from what you initially anticipated. The process of plan-ning is as important as its result.
This project calendar includes a plan for stepping through the design phases as well as major check-in dates and deadlines.
DIScOvErY
Phase-Step
1–2
Prepare Research
Identify Sources of Inspiration
Select Research Participants
Build a Question Guide
Prepare For Fieldwork
WOrKSHEET
Worksheets for this step are available on pages 20–29 of the Designer's Workbook to help you prepare research with your team.
Identify Sources of Inspiration
Inspiration is the fuel for your ideas. Plan activities to learn from multiple peoples’
perspectives and explore unfamiliar contexts.
Imagine interesting people to meet
Draw a map of all the people involved in your topic. Think of characteristics that would make them interesting to meet. As a team, choose who you want to learn from. Plan how to get in contact with them.
Think of extremes
Consider meeting people who represent “extremes:” people that are either completely familiar with and involved in your topic, or don’t have anything to do with it. Extreme participants will help you under-stand unarticulated behaviors, desires, and needs of the rest of the population that they feel or express more powerfully than others.
Make a list of activities you want to do
Choose which activities will best help you learn and get inspired (find more information about each activ-ity on the respective method pages):
» Learn from users » Learn from experts
» Learn from peers observing peers » Learn from peoples’ self-documentation » Immerse yourself in context
» Seek inspiration in analogous settings Encourage people to tell you their whole story and avoid yes/no questions.
20–30 mins Reflective
2–3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
A research plan listing activities and people you want to learn from.
KEEp In MInD
Inspiration is found in places that excite you. Dare to plan activities that will invigorate the team, even if you are not certain what exactly you may learn from them. At this point, you are looking for inspiration, not validation.
DIScOvErY DIScOvErY
ExaMPLE
A team from Riverdale Country School was looking to design new ways for teachers to collaborate. They decided to visit analogous settings where collaboration happens, and considered some pretty interesting inspiration – a fire station, a corporate office, and a design studio. While visiting the corporate office, they learned that the office staff prepare for meetings by sending out an agenda in advance. This way, everyone is prepared for the meeting. Gathering many other nuggets of inspiration, this specific story stood out to them, given that their faculty meetings typically began with a discussion of the agenda, and that ended up taking much of the limited time they had together. They decided immediately to try this idea
in their school.
Select Research Participants
People are often your most valuable source of inspiration. Imagine specific
characteristics of the people you would like to meet. This will help you navigate the
process of finding and engaging with interesting individuals.
Describe the people you want to meet
Create specific descriptions of the people you want to engage with. Picture the characteristics of people you are looking for. Do you need to speak with a quiet child? Is it a very dedicated administrator you are looking for? Could you learn the most from some-one who just started their career? Make sure you also cover a variety of gender, experience, ethnicity, etc. Work as a team and build a visual overview of your thoughts, using a large piece of paper or Post-it notes.
Plan the interaction and logistics
Think about what exactly you want to do with each participant. Where do you want to meet them? How much time will you spend with them? Is there an activity you can do together to enrich the conversa-tion? What will you ask them to show you? Write down your plans for all research activities.
Invite participants
Connect with the people you want to meet. Prepare a script for your initial conversations that helps them understand the purpose of your research. Don’t be afraid to tap into your personal networks: people are generally happy to share what they know.
Track your recruiting progress
Take notes when you speak with people, so you remember the details of each conversation. Create a checklist that helps everyone on your team keep an overview of the progress and scheduling.
20–45 min
Interaction
1–3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
Appointments to meet and learn from interest-ing people.
KEEp In MInD
When planning your interviews, consider the number of people that will be appropriate to attend. Too many interviewers can make people feel uneasy, par-ticularly when adults speak with kids.
DIScOvErY DIScOvErY
Build a Question Guide
Having a good conversation with a stranger is not always easy. When speaking with
research participants, you have to both build trust and help them feel comfortable while
collecting relevant information. Carefully prepare for your conversations in order to
manage this delicate balance.
Identify topics
As a team, brainstorm themes you want to learn about in your conversations with research partici-pants. What do you need to learn about your chal-lenge? What are you hoping to understand about people’s motivations and frustrations? What do you want to learn about their activities? Is the role they play in their network of importance?
Develop questions
Formulate questions that explore these topics. Frame them as open-ended questions, such as:
» “Tell me about an experience...” » “What are the best/worst parts about…?” » “Can you help me understand more
about…?”
Encourage people to tell you their whole story and avoid yes/no questions.
Organize your questions
organize your questions using the following struc-ture:
» Start specific: begin with questions your participants are comfortable answering. » Go broad: ask more profound questions
about hopes, fears and ambitions. » Probe deep: explore your challenge or
any interesting theme you picked up on during the conversation in more depth. Consider prompting thoughts with “what if” scenarios.
Then create a question guide that is very
read-able, so you can glance at it quickly during your conversation.
Build tangible conversation starters It can be
helpful to share early ideas or concepts in your conversation, particularly when you are working on an abstract challenge. you can create a sketch, build a simple cardboard representation or describe a scenario that your participants can respond to. your idea does not have to be realistic—it only serves the purpose of gaining a better understanding of your topic.
confirm your plans
Confirm date, time and location for your research activities. Agree on logistics, including transporta-tion, with your team.
assign roles
Designate one person to lead the conversation. Select a second person who will focus on watching participants’ body language and facial expressions. Decide which team member will take notes, and choose a photographer. Remember to ask permis-sion before taking any photos.
Prepare your equipment
Make sure to gather materials for your fieldwork ahead of time:
» Question guide
» Participants’ contact details » Team members’ contact details » Directions to location
» notepads and pens » Camera (load batteries!) » Mobile phones
» Thank you gifts for participants (if applicable)
» Post-it notes, Sharpie markers
Preparing a list of questions will help you guide the direction of an interview.
20–30 min
Hands-On
2–3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
A question guide for a valuable research conversation.
KEEp In MInD
The most valuable aspect of a question guide is the thought process that goes into writing it. During the actual conversation, let the person you are speaking with lead you to what matters to them. Use the question guide as a checklist to ensure you have covered everything— not as a script for the conversation.
DIScOvErY
Prepare For Fieldwork
Whether you are meeting a group of students in the cafeteria or traveling across town
to visit a company, fieldwork activities run smoother with thoughtful preparation.
Assign responsibilities to team members ahead of time so everyone knows what to
focus on.
confirm your plans
Confirm date, time and location for your research activities. Agree on logistics, including transporta-tion, with your team.
assign roles
Designate one person to lead the conversation. Select a second person who will focus on watching participants’ body language and facial expressions. Decide which team member will take notes, and choose a photographer. Remember to ask permis-sion before taking any photos.
Prepare your equipment
Make sure to gather materials for your fieldwork ahead of time:
» Question guide
» Participants’ contact details » Team members’ contact details » Directions to location
» notepads and pens » Camera (load batteries!) » Mobile phones
» Thank you gifts for participants (if applicable)
» Post-it notes, Sharpie markers
15–20 min Hands-On
1-3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
A solid plan for your fieldwork activities.
KEEp In MInD
It is important to assign roles ahead of time, however, it feels more natural for all team members to engage in the conversation to some degree..
Establish trust with participants
Practice creating an atmosphere in which people feel comfortable enough to open up. Build on the skills you have developed in the school context.
» Listen patiently. Do not interrupt, and allow for pauses to give participants time to think.
» Use non-verbal gestures, such as eye contact, nodding, and smiling, to reas-sure participants you are engaged and interested in what they are saying.
Get the most out of your interactions
Encourage people to reveal what really matters to them.
» Ask participants to show you the object or space they are talking about, » Have participants draw what they are
talking about.
» Keep asking “why?” in response to con-secutive answers.
rESEarcH TIPS
There are many impressions to take in during a field visit. Use the following research tips to draw out interesting stories and keep track of what’s important.
Know what to look for
Look for indications that reveal what people care about—and keep in mind, that they may contradict themselves.
» Look for cues in the things that people surround themselves with or the way they carry themselves.
» notice workarounds and adaptations people have made to make a system or tool serve their needs better, for example: lowering the height of bulletin boards to make it easier for children to read them. » Explore things that prompt certain
behaviors, for example: a line printed around a track field that causes people to run within a certain area.
capture what you see
Take lots of notes and photos of what you see, hear, feel, smell and taste during a field visit. Capture direct quotes. Write down your immediate thoughts without worrying about an interpretation.
DIScOvErY
30-60 min
Hands-On
2–6 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
Skills for learning from what’s around you.
KEEp In MInD
Approach your obser-vation with an open mind and imagine this as the first time you have gone through this experience. Look for details you may have overlooked before.
Phase-Step
1–3
Gather Inspiration
Immerse Yourself In Context
Seek Inspiration In Analogous Settings
Learn From Experts
Learn From Users
WOrKSHEET
Worksheets for this step are available on pages 30-33 of the Designer's Workbook to help you gather inspiration with your team.
Immerse Yourself In Context
With a curious mindset, inspiration and new perspectives can be found in many places
and without much preparation. Sharpen your skills in observing the world around you.
Plan your observations
Choose a place where you can have an experience that is relevant to your challenge. For example, if you are looking for new ideas on arrival and departure procedures at your school, drive up to the drop off area, just as parents do, and try to stop, wait and go. Think of certain aspects of your experience you want to capture, such as:
» What emotions do you experience (surprises, frustrations, motivations, decision making factors), and why?
» What emotions do you experience (surprises, frustrations, motivations, decision making factors), and why?
» What are peoples’ moving patterns in space?
Explore and take notes
Try to blend in with everyone else during your observation. Find a spot that’s out of the way. Take notes and photos. Capture interesting quotes. Draw sketches, plans and layouts.
capture what you have seen
Immediately after your observation, take some time to capture the things you found most interesting, and write them on Post-it notes so you will be able to reorganize them later.
DIScOvErY DIScOvErY 20–90 min Hands-On 2–3 People DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
A new perspective on the challenge you work on, inspiration and energy.
KEEp In MInD
Explore with an open mind, even if you do not immediately understand how to apply your experiences. After you return, spend time relating what you found interesting to the challenge you are working on.
Seek Inspiration In Analogous Settings
Looking for inspiration in a different context outside of the education world opens
the mind and can help you find a fresh perspective. Dare to go out of your comfort
zone and explore.
Think of analogies that connect with your challenge
With your team, list all the activities, emotions, and behaviors that make up the experience of your challenge. next to each of these areas, write down other situations where similar experiences occur. As a team, select the scenarios that you would like to observe. For example, if you are looking to re-envision arrival and departure procedures at your school, consider observing the lobby of a busy yet elegant hotel.
Make arrangements for your activities
Plan the logistics of your activities. Connect with the people you want to visit and explain the purpose of your search for inspiration.
absorb the experience
During your visit, first observe peoples’ activities and their environments. Then, when appropriate, ask questions about what you have noticed.
Learn From Experts
Experts can provide in-depth information about a topic and can be especially helpful
when you need to learn a large amount of information in a short amount of time.
choose the participants
Choose experts based on your objective: are you looking to learn about their field of study? Would you like someone’s opinion on your topic who has rich knowledge of its context?
Set up for a productive conversation
Carefully plan how you want the conversation to flow. Consider asking the expert to actively help you work on an early concept.
ExaMPLE
A team, trying to redesign the library, went to the Apple store to gather inspiration. They observed the ways in which the in-store experience introduces customers to new products as well as how the set-up enabled people to navigate the space and easily find what they were looking for. The team was very inspired by the visit and brought the in-store conceirge experience into their final design solution.
1–2 hours Interaction
2–3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
Access to in-depth knowledge in a certain area of expertise.
KEEp In MInD
Find the balance between using experts to get a good understanding of the current situation and preserving space to think beyond the exist-ing models.
DIScOvErY
Learn From Users
There are many different ways to learn from users, including individual interviews,
learning from people's self-documentation, group interviews, and learning from peers
observing peers. Each type of user research requires a different set-up to ensure the
best discovery session and users' comfort and willingness to share. Choose from the
following set of categories and guidelines to support your research.
Learn From Individuals
Spending time with people on their own allows you to deeply engage with and learn
from them. Guide the conversation to gain a rich understanding of their thoughts and
behaviors.
create a trusted atmosphere
Start the conversation on a casual note. Talk about a subject that is unrelated to your research first to make the participant feel comfortable. Be consider-ate of the space you are in and make sure you have the appropriate level of privacy.
Pay attention to the environment
Try to meet in the participant’s context—in their class-room, home, office or workplace. During the conver-sation, keep your eyes open for what’s around. Ask about objects or spaces you find interesting, and try to get a tour of the environment.
capture your immediate observations
Take a lot of quick notes in the voice of the partici-pants. Write down interesting quotes. Do not worry about interpreting them yet. Try to capture your observations in the moment.
Get continuous feedback
Consider making one or some of your research participants members of your team to continuously get their feedback and ideas.
Making the user feel comfortable is crucial to the success of an interview. With kids, it's especially helpful to meet them at eye-level.
45–90 min Interaction
2–3 People
DIFFICulTy
THIS GETS yOu
An in-depth insight into the user's’ needs and motivations.
KEEp In MInD
Field research activi-ties are an opportu-nity to take a new perspective. Treat your conversation partner as an expert. Try not to make participants feel that you are more knowledgeable than they are, particularly when you are speaking with children.
DIScOvErY DIScOvErY
KEEp In MInD
Often teenagers and young people find self-documentary exercises less intimidating than adults and enjoy expressing themselves in new ways.
KEEp In MInD
Group sessions will give you a good overview of a topic. If you are trying to gain a deeper under-standing of peoples’ motivations, however, choose an individual interview. Particularly when working with kids, group interviews can be a great format to help them feel comfortable with an adult team.
Learn From Peoples’ Self-Documentation
Asking participants to record their own experiences allows you to learn about them over
an extended period of time. Guide participants to capture and share their thoughts,
decisions and emotions.
Plan the documentation activities
Decide what you would like people to document: feelings, activities, behaviors? Choose the best mode for collecting that information: photographs, diaries, voice recordings, videos?
Invite and instruct participants
Give participants tools and instructions to document themselves for several days or weeks. Explicitly explain why and how to record their activities.
review with participants
Look at the materials together with participants after their documentation phase. Ask them not just what the things are that they documented, but also why they chose these details and how they felt about them.
Learn From Groups
Bringing together groups of people allows you to observe the interactions between them,
to recognize community dynamics and issues, and to understand their different opinions.
choose the participants
Consider what you are looking for: to make partici-pants comfortable enough to share details about their passions, bring together groups of like-minded individuals. To find out about individuals’ opinions, invite people with contradicting opinions.
Set up for a conversational atmosphere
Prepare a space for an informal discussion over food and drinks. Start the conversation on a casual note. Talk about a subject that is unrelated to your research first to make the participants feel comfortable.
Listen to the group’s conversations
Encourage conversations between participants and consider dividing people into smaller groups to bet-ter facilitate these discussions.
capture your immediate observations
Take a lot of quick notes in the participants’ voices. Write down interesting quotes. Do not worry about interpreting them yet. Try to capture your observa-tions in the moment.
Get continuous feedback
Consider setting up a panel of participants that you engage with throughout your project to continuously receive feedback on your ideas.
Asking a student to document their day, for instance, can help you understand their mental model of their school day. This can help you gain instight into their priorities and choices.
DIScOvErY DIScOvErY
KEEp In MInD
This method is par-ticularly helpful when you are trying to learn about a group that you are not part of. It can help you learn about children: they will share very different informa-tion with each other than with an adult. Be careful to not create the impression of your researchers spying on their peers!
Learn From Peers Observing Peers
There is a level of understanding between peers that you can’t immediately get as an
outside observer. Make select participants part of your research team. Ask them to
speak with and observe their peers.
Select your research partners
Choose people that are trusted and respected amongst their peers as well as articulate and excited to participate. Invite them to become part of your research team.
Decide on compensation
Decide how you will thank your research partners, and prepare accordingly.
Guide their research
Together with your new team members, define what you are trying to learn about, and think of activities to source and record this information.
Meet frequently
Create regular interactions with your research team and integrate them in a structured way.
InTErPrETaTIOn
WHERE yoU ARE In THE PRoCESS WHaT’S In THIS PHaSE
2-1 Tell Stories 41
2-2 Search for Meaning 43
2-3 Frame Opportunities 46
